UAE on Tadej Pogačar injury and surgery: ‘It’s not such good news’

Officials from UAE Team Emirates were naturally on edge following Sunday’s crash involving team captain Tadej Pogačar that will see the two-time Tour de France winner undergo surgery.

Team boss Mauro Gianetti confirmed that Pogačar — who crashed out of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday about 85km into the race — broke “multiple” bones in his wrist and hand.

“It’s not such good news. He has multiple fractures in his left wrist,” Gianetti told Eurosport. “He will be operated on directly in the hospital in Genk [Belgium] by a hand specialist.

“Tadej was there with the team doctor, and we let him go to to the hospital, and he did the MRI,” he said. “I will speak to him after the surgery.”

Medical Update: Dr. Adrian Rotunno (Medical Director) : ” @TamauPogi suffered fractures to the left scaphoid and lunate bones. The scaphoid will require surgery which he will undergo this afternoon with a specialist hand surgeon here in Genk.” 🙏 #WeAreUAE

— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) April 23, 2023

Gianetti said Pogačar was taken down by what he described as a “double puncture” involving EF Education-EasyPost rider Mikkel Honoré, who was also forced to abandon.

EF Education-EasyPost officials said Honoré is “banged up,” but otherwise not seriously injured after striking a pothole in the road, causing both tires to explode.

“It was a double puncture of Honoré, and with the explosion of the tires, it caused the crash,” Gianetti said. “And he was involved in the crash. That’s something that happens in cycling, and this time it was him.”

Gianetti: ‘We cross our fingers it will be OK’

The good news is that there didn’t appear to be any more serious injuries or setbacks following the crash for cycling’s biggest star.

Of course, a big question now is how the wrist injury might impact Pogačar’s season and a return to the Tour de France in July.

Pogačar was due for a rest anyway after a busy spring, and his next scheduled race isn’t until the Tour of Slovenia in June.

Even if he might face some time off the bike during recovery, Pogačar would be able to ride the indoor trainer to maintain his fitness in the buildup toward July.

According to the Mayo Clinic, full recovery from a broken wrist can range from six to 12 weeks. Depending on the severity, a long or complicated recovery could put his Tour start in danger.

Gianetti said the team will have more information following the surgery.

“It’s too early to say now. We will have more information after the surgery and to see how it goes, and if they can fix it. Since it is not just one bone broken, but multiple, it will be a bit more complicated,” Gianetti said. “So we cross fingers that it will be OK, and he will be able to recover very fast.”

The crash marked one of the rare times that Pogačar has crashed out of a race or even posted a DNF.

The incident also took Pogačar out of the running to complete the so-called Ardennes sweep and deflated the highly anticipated clash against Remco Evenepoel, who went on to win the race in dominant fashion.